Slide Show: Brussels Under Lockdown

On Monday morning, more than a million people in Brussels awoke to the third day of a security lockdown. Charles Michel, Belgium's prime minister, had reported on Saturday that “several individuals with arms and explosives” might attack the capital, “perhaps even in several places at the same time.” Schools and universities closed; soldiers patrolled the streets. Entrances to the city’s metro system remained shuttered and the aboveground trains ran late, or sometimes not at all.

The previous night had seen a series of raids across the country. For reasons of operational security, the Belgian federal police had asked that locals not share information about their movements on social media. As a sign of support, or perhaps to puncture the tension, Twitter users began posting thousands of photographs of cats under the hashtag #BrusselsLockdown. After arresting more than twenty people, the federal police responded with a picture of cat food, captioned “For the cats who helped us last night… Help yourself!”

Tonight, the Belgian Crisis Center announced that Brussels would remain at threat level four, the nation’s highest, for another week. The gallows humor is beginning to set in. This morning, before bidding adieu to a train-bound customer, a cheerful barista said, “Goodbye! Hope you don’t get killed!”